TRP: Jonn and Roddy (Brothers)
Word Count: 2500 'Muse: ' Day 178/Jan 12. Bar in Skyport. After crying his eyes out, Roddy'd gone up to his room and jotted out a quick note to send to Jonn. Didn't even bother to wait for the reply before heading out. He was spending a lot of time travelling today but who cared! Not Roddy! Walking was a great time to be alone with your thoughts! About how your friends were going to be torturing and probably killing your family and how you were gonna sit back and let it happen because your scumbag brother was too powerful to let go and too cowardly to turn to your side so you know- just peachy! Yeah by the time Roddy made it to the bar, he was about ready to cry. Again. And then Roddy ducked inside and saw Jonn- and then it hit him again how at least one person at the castle couldn't stand to be around Roddy's other brother, so he had to walk four hours to see Jonn- and now if that didn't want to make him cry all over again. Roddy crossed to Jonn and pulled him into a tight hug, "Hey," he greeted, his voice watery and shaky. '''Izzy: '''at 4:45 AM Jonn had been ... a little bit worried by Roddy's letter. It wasn't like that time Roddy'd written to him about Hansel and Goro, the letters all scribbled and panicked, but it made Jonn antsy knowing something had gone wrong with Roddy and it'd be four hours before they could see each other, before Jonn could do anything about it. Luci had the other clerics at the Sanctuary, and Roddy had the Runners, and Hansel, which made Jonn wonder -- why did Roddy have to come to him? And today was already a bad day. When he'd gone by the guildhouse, Shallah had been crying, and he'd run through scripts in his head and sat down next to her to hug her, and asked her what was wrong. She'd just -- cried, for a while, and he tried to do the thing Hansel did where he squeezed Jonn tight enough to break him but didn't, quite, but he wasn't really strong enough for that, so he tried something else and kissed the top of her head. When she got enough breath in, she told him that her girlfriend had been killed. Meg, the quiet archer still stationed out in Glimmerton 'til recently -- Jonn remembered her. He repurposed some of the things Hansel had said to him, when Flynn had died, and that'd seemed to help, too. Shallah didn't even know where Meg had been, what her new post in Skyport was, and that seemed to bother her a lot, not knowing who had killed Meg. Jonn told her it was probably the Basha. She nodded. When she thanked him for spending time with her, he nodded and moved on, pleased. Hansel would've been proud of him. So -- so why the fuck wasn't Hansel helping Roddy? Why did Roddy look like he'd been crying and sound like he was about to again? Jonn had that feeling in his gut that was something past antsy. He hugged Roddy back as tight as he could -- even if it wasn't tight enough -- and didn't let go 'til Roddy did. "Za'iri, what's wrong? What happened?" '''Muse: '''at 9:02 AM Roddy wasn't ready to let go yet. "Everything," Roddy declared gloomily. "Nothing." He was being very dramatic. Probably worrying Jonn. Okay, just- explain yourself, Roddy. "Got in a fight with Amren," he muttered lowly. "I- killed him. Got Goro to bring him back but. I think they're gonna kill him again soon." '''Izzy: '''at 11:42 AM Oh. That was ... pretty impressive, actually. And great, because fuck Amren -- Jonn couldn't stand that little shit. Always made his skin crawl. So what was Roddy upset about? Jonn was kind of glad Roddy hadn't let him go, just because he was sure he had a puzzled look on his face. Said he got Goro to bring him back. Like that was what Roddy wanted. Shit, well, he had said something about not wanting Jonn to kill Amren -- so he'd done it by accident? Okay, then. That, Jonn could understand. "Um ... well, good thing Goro was there, though, right?" he tried. Plenty of times a handy cleric could've gotten Jonn out of a scrape. '''Muse: '''at 11:58 AM Roddy nodded. If he hadn't been- Roddy didn't want to think about that. It was bad enough- knowing what he'd done. If Roddy'd had to live with that... He should do something nice for Goro. On top of the buying a new wand for him. Later though. "C'mon let's-" Roddy tugged Jonn over to a table. Shouldn't stand around too long. Still kept one arm looped over Jonn's shoulders, made Roddy feel a bit more grounded. "Yeah it's- yeah. Lucky," he said slowly. "Just-" (I still killed Amren. My team wants to kill him. Vaala wants to turn him into a mouse. I see why it needs to happen. I don't think I'll try to stop them. I'm choosing my team over my family.) "-it's a lot," he settled on. Rubbed at his eyes again. "Sorry. Being a crybaby now I guess." '''Izzy: '''at 12:17 PM Hmm. This seemed like -- yeah, yep, definitely a lot. This was a Hansel problem. Where the fuck was Hansel? "Hey, uh." No, hang on. Roddy being upset was more pressing. He didn't really think he could fix this, but he did have to try first. "I mean, that's okay." Hansel would say something like ... "I cry a lot. So does Dad. You don't have to apologize." Yeah, nailed it. That was some Hansel shit, right there. (Where the fuck was Hansel? Jonn tried to not jitter in place.) '''Muse: '''at 12:29 PM "Already cried," Roddy muttered. Still. That was- nice. To get reminded of. "Thanks," he added belatedly. Still though. It wasn't- solving anything. Hanging out with Jonn. And... Roddy kinda wished Dad was here too. He loved Jonn but Hansel had a way of- helping him settle more. Steady, stable. Jonn was- fidgeting. "Sorry," Roddy muttered again, letting go. "I'm just-" he sighed, shrugging. "I don't know. Dunno what to do." '''Izzy: '''at 12:53 PM Jonn's gut reaction was to say something about how -- if Amren dying was a problem for Roddy, then Jonn'd help save him. But, on the other hand ... fuck Amren. Little bastard should die, right? But if Roddy didn't want that, then -- Shit. Jonn didn't know what to do, either. He chewed on his thumbnail for a second. "What does Dad say to do?" '''Muse: '''at 12:57 PM "Haven't talked to him," Roddy said. "He- left. Not sure why." And if that didn't just- make this mess even harder. "Wasn't replying to my Sendings either," he said quietly. '''Izzy: '''at 1:11 PM Jonn sat up straighter. That didn't sound like Hansel. Didn't sound like him at all -- he wouldn't just ignore Roddy, wouldn't just leave without saying anything -- if he wasn't acting like himself -- Fuck. Shit, shit, shit. Jonn was still too small. There wasn't anything he could do, and there wasn't anyone to help him, and he didn't even know what this meant, much less what to do about it. He realized he'd accidentally bitten his actual thumb, to bleeding, and quickly hid it under the table, folding his hands together. Roddy was still upset. Hansel would -- he'd want Jonn to help Roddy. And if he wasn't acting like himself, Jonn guessed he would just have to ... try harder to act like him? Shar, that sounded fucking hard. "Okay." He fidgeted with his hands. "Okay, well -- uh -- I think if he was here he'd say something like ... something about how Amren needs help, probably? Dad always sees, like, the best in people," he said quietly. "So he'd probably say we should -- help keep Amren from dying again?" Ugh, no, he hated that. This sucked. '''Muse: '''at 1:24 PM Roddy groaned and thudded his head down on the table. "Y'know it makes it hard when I'm the only one on my team that doesn't just want Amren dead," he complained. (Ignore the worry about Hansel that was cropping back up- Mishka was taking care of that. Roddy couldn't do anything about that one.) "You know I talked to him. And... I don't know if we can help him," Roddy admitted. "He's- scared. Of Wyn and Wyn's boss. And- y'know- fear's a pretty powerful motivator..." '''Izzy: '''at 1:33 PM Jonn frowned, pulling his boots up into his seat to wrap his arms around his knees. Wyn's boss? He thought Wyn was the boss. That was -- something. He didn't know what it was, but maybe Finch would. "Wyn's pretty scary," he admitted, slowly. Ugh, he hated the idea of it, but -- maybe if they told him about how Finch was planning to take Wyn down, he'd help them? "Maybe I could talk to him." And if he turned on them, Jonn would just slit his throat. Easy. Wait, no, that wouldn't make Roddy happy. Shit. '''Muse: '''at 1:46 PM "Maybe," Roddy said slowly. "I think- I think my team is going to talk to him soon though. We've got him locked up in the dungeon and, well," he winced. "...You're not exactly the favorite person around there." '''Izzy: '''at 1:51 PM "Yeah." Huh. He guessed it was probably rough for Roddy to have two brothers that most of his other friends wanted dead. If people wanted to kill Luci like that -- and he was already worried about Roddy being with the Sanguines -- "I mean, Asya can help me sneak in," he said quickly, to distract himself. Shit, they were probably guarding him, though. "Maybe, uh -- maybe you could distract the Runners and me and Asya could just ... get him out? Y'know, with the teleporting thing she does." '''Muse: '''at 1:55 PM "I don't-" Roddy looked away, drumming his fingers on the table. "I don't know if- I should," he said slowly. "I don't- I think-" Ah what the heck. Roddy grabbed Jonn and pulled him into another hug. "I was just trying to get used to the idea of him dying and now! Jonn! I don't know!" he wailed. '''Izzy: '''at 1:58 PM Oh, shit. Well. That wasn't what he'd thought would happen. He hugged Roddy back, automatically, but bluntly said, "Wait, so ... do you want him dead or not?" '''Muse: '''at 2:02 PM "Not! But I'm the only one that thinks that! And- I don't think I'm gonna try to stop them. And-" Oh there he went crying again. Roddy just- quit talking. This was- such a mess. '''Izzy: '''at 2:12 PM Jonn grimaced and patted Roddy's shell. He definitely wasn't making this better. Hansel would just -- fix it, somehow. He'd know what to do. Jonn fucking didn't, not at all. Maybe the way to help Roddy was to help Hansel first, so Hansel could help Roddy, but Jonn couldn't do that either. He'd thought Helena might help him, but -- not Wyn. She would want something in return, and he didn't have ... Well ... No, he probably didn't have time. Roddy said the Runners would be talking to Amren soon. God, he hated that little fuck, hated him so much, hated that he was afraid of him, but for Roddy -- he'd promised. Roddy was his little brother, now. "Hey. Roddy?" He made himself pull away to look Roddy in the eye. "Hey. If -- if you really wanna save Amren, I think I can do it. I'll do it for you. Pinky swear." '''Muse: '''at 2:41 PM Roddy rubbed at his eyes. He didn't- know what to do. Jonn was offering him choices that- Roddy hadn't considered as options. For a minute he let himself think about it. Amren switching to their side. Helping out. Maybe actually getting along- with Jonn too. And everybody else. Getting another piece back to his scattered family. Cept it wasn't gonna work like that. Amren was- a liar a scumbag and a coward. He'd probably try to shank Jonn and then run back to Wyn with his tail tucked between his legs. "I- really appreciate the offer," he said haltingly. "You are- the best brother. I know I'm crying about Amren and all but- I can't trust him. I can trust you. But... I don't think it'd- work. So. Don't- don't bother. Okay?" '''Izzy: '''at 2:58 PM Shit. This was just -- just really frustrating. How did Hansel do this shit? What'd it mean that Roddy was so upset about Amren dying, but he wouldn't let Jonn save him, even though Jonn didn't even fucking want to do that -- Jonn was trying really hard, and -- and Roddy didn't even want -- He needed to go. He needed to go -- find something to stab or punch or -- run until he was breathless, or go back to the bunker or track down Gwydion. He needed to do something that Roddy shouldn't know about, and then he needed to find a way to make things better, make them work again. "Okay," he said abruptly. He pulled away. "Okay, I won't. I gotta -- I gotta go." Really wanted to bolt, but made himself hop up to stand in a seat so he could quickly kiss the top of Roddy weird turtle head, 'cause that was something Hansel would do to make them both feel better. He hopped back down just as quickly. "I love you. I'm gonna, uh, I'm gonna find a way to fix things, okay?" he said, walking backwards. "I will. I really will. I promise." Luci had said stop doing things. Hansel always said don't. But this time, though -- this time Jonn was really going to fix things. He was gonna make everything better, this time. Yeah. '''Muse: '''at 3:08 PM Roddy made a noise of protest as Jonn pulled away- he wasn't ready for that. He wanted hugs and reassurance and not- this! "But Jonn-" he started to whine. Cut himself off. He was just being pathetic and needy wasn't he. "Okay," he said miserably. "Be careful." Roddy didn't want to be alone. But he didn't know who else he could turn to right now. Well. He was at a bar at least. Maybe a drink or two (or ten) would take the edge off... '''Izzy: '''at 3:42 PM Oh, wait, shit. Jonn knew there was one thing he could maybe do for Roddy right now. He darted back before he got too caught up, making himself stay focused on his little brother a moment longer. "Hey. Hey, Roddy? Hey." He bounced on his toes. "Listen, I know we always hang out in bars and stuff, but I think we should both try to cut back on drinking," he said firmly. "I think it like -- you know, you drink too much and it makes you black out, forget stuff -- messes with your memory. You gotta be careful. That's what Dad'd say." Hansel would also get even drunker than Jonn did, but that was what he'd say. And he'd say -- "Okay. I love you," again, and then, "I'll see you later, stay safe." He bolted again. He was a good big brother. '''Muse: '''at 3:52 PM "But I want to forget," Roddy said to the empty air left behind. This was confusing. Dad might say that but- Dad smelled like he'd been drinking more often than not. Roddy was not in the mood to be thinking about his drinking habits of all things. What with the Amren situation- yeah. He'd think about the drinking thing later. Today he was getting drunk. END Title: Brothers Summary: Upset about Amren, Roddy goes to Jonn for comforting. Jonn gives it the old college try. Neither are particularly with the results. Category:Text Roleplay